


The End of The Beginning

by AwokenMonster, MKelly



Category: Hollywood Undead (Band)
Genre: Demon AU, M/M, apocalypse au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-16 18:55:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14171367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwokenMonster/pseuds/AwokenMonster, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MKelly/pseuds/MKelly
Summary: "Nothing amazing, I went to work, came home, ate, slept and repeated the same routine day after day.” Matt explained, he never really got the chance to explore."





	1. Meet Cute

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on the AU one-shot fic I created called Lurking Demons as well as getting inspired by AwokenMonster`s fic Can`t Drown My Demons. The deal was if my brother impressed me enough, I`d create this fic, so I created this fic. I`d reccomend reading his fic if you haven`t already, it`s an amazing work! 
> 
> (Monster had no idea I was going to add him as a co-author, so his reaction is going to be either good or bad when he sees this.)

During a sunny morning Matt raced to his work, running extremely late due to his phone alarm for some reason not going off when it was meant to. Usually in the morning he enjoyed walking through the grassy, bright park as he headed to work. He was always late every once in a while, but he was never this late and so he now had no time to enjoy the amazing atmosphere the park was able to give in the beautiful morning. That was what was different today; he was way too late to enjoy his walk to his job at the music store and he didn`t even have any time to look at where he was going. Sprinting to the other end of the park as fast as he could, the place he worked at was just across the road from the park and he hoped that he wasn`t too late. When his eyes noticed the gate at the opposite end of the park he pushed himself to run faster, determined to avoid as much trouble as he possibly could. But the next he knew during his big sprint to his job, he found himself lying on the grey concrete path staring, out of breath, at the clear blue sky that had very few clouds, if any.

“Are you alright?” Matt heard a voice ask; he looked over towards the owner of the voice and saw a man looking down at him with brown eyes filled with concern.

“I think so…” Matt frowned, watching as the man held out his hand for him to take. He grabbed the stranger`s hand and pushed himself back up onto his feet, wiping his hands on his legs once he found his balance again from bumping into the person in front of him. “Sorry about that. I`m really late for work.” He muttered.

“It`s fine, just watch where you`re going from now on.” The stranger replied, giving Matt a charming smile which made him smile warmly back.

“I will.” Matt answered politely, grinning with the stranger and almost completely forgetting about the fact that he was really late for work.

“Good, I don`t want you bumping into anymore sexy, handsome, attractive men.” The man winked playfully, his words left Matt shocked and surprised, he didn`t know what to say back.

“Well I…” He stuttered a reply, but stopped when he heard the stranger chuckle at his reaction.

“I`m Dylan.” The stranger, Dylan introduced himself and Matt smiled back.

“I`m Matt.” He replied, completely distracted from being late for work by the man in front of him, there was something really interesting about him.

“Aren`t you late for work?” Dylan questioned and Matt`s eyes widened, he was now a lot more late than he wanted to be, even if he wished he wasn`t late at all so his boss wouldn`t be mad at him.

“Shit!” He cursed. “Sorry, I have to go.” Matt added.

“It`s cool man. Catch you later.” Dylan said as Matt continued his sprint to his work, not wanting to be any later than he already was. Once he got to his work, Matt let out of a breath from his rush to get to work. He quickly headed to the back of the music store and get ready for work, if he was lucky enough, his manager wouldn`t notice that he was a whole hour late. Of course he wouldn`t, but it was a small piece of hope that he wanted to hold onto even if it was a fat chance that the manager didn`t notice. Even then, Matt`s hope went to the fact that his boss was a nice person, a friend who might be able to forgive him for being late…again. The late worker sighed and walked over to the back door that would let him start his job. When he walked through the door he jumped slightly as he saw his boss standing there with an unimpressed look covering his face.

“Care to explain why you`re an hour late?” His boss said, he wasn`t happy.

“Well, my alarm didn`t goes off and...” Matt started, but he stopped his words when the manager let out a frustrated sigh.

“Matthew, you`re late for work at least once a week, how many excuses do you have?” He asked. Matt stayed quiet. He watched his boss carefully; he had nothing to say back to his disappointed manager. Then a grin suddenly covered the man`s face when he saw the reaction he wanted out of Matt, glad that he managed to trick his friend into believing he was actually unhappy with him. “I`m kidding, man. Relax.” The man said, he chuckled at Matt`s face.

“Charlie, that`s not funny!” Matt sighed in relief, Charlie smiled at him. Even if Matt was annoyed at Charlie for tricking him into being afraid of losing his job he was still relieved that his friend was only kidding about being so upset.

“It is. But really, Matt. You need to try and be on time from now on.” Charlie said and Matt nodded, he understood why he should be on time and he really did not have an excuse for being late so much, he had to try harder.

“I will.” Matt said. His friend nodding as both started organising his work.

“Good, so mind telling me why you actually were late? The real reason?” Charlie questioned and Matt nodded, even though he had said the “real reason” why he was late. It wasn`t the whole real reason, sure, but it was some of it.

“Well, I wasn`t really lying. The alarm on my phone actually didn`t go off this morning.” Matt said. Charlie nodded before grinning wide at him. He knew there was more to the story than simply Matt`s alarm not going off when it was meant to.

“And?” Charlie grinned.

“And what?” Matt asked, Charlie chuckled.

“Come on, I can tell by the look on your face that there was more to the story, tell me!” Charlie pried; Matt sighed, but still smiled.

“While I was sprinting to work I bumped into someone.” He replied honestly, Charlie nodded, obviously wanting to hear more.

“Oh? Who did you bump into?” Charlie questioned, wiggling his eyebrows. Matt wasn`t sure what his friend was thinking about.

“His name is Dylan.” Matt said and Charlie grinned wider.

“I know I tease you about that a lot, but I didn`t know you`re actually interested in guys.” Charlie teased.

“I probably won`t even see him again, you know?” Matt said back as he checked to see if anything in his work needed done.

“Are you sure about that?” Charlie questioned with a knowing look, Matt frowned at him in confusion. “If he flirted with you, you will see him again.” Charlie explained.

“I guess he flirted?” Matt said back. “I don`t know.” He added.

“You`ll see him again.” Charlie knowingly said.

“Whatever, if you say so.” Matt replied. He carried on with his work as Charlie did the same, organising the business as both men chatted through out the day. Matt had known Charlie for years, he didn`t really see Charlie as his boss anymore, but rather as his friend. He was a close enough friend now that he called his boss “Charlie” instead of his real name. The day went by mostly easily, there were some difficult customers, but Matt believed and reckoned that he had handled them well and Charlie had had his back when one of the worst customers there was in that day showed up. It was annoying that that same customer was a reoccurring consumer, but there wasn`t much Matt could do other than serve him. When Matt`s shift ended he was really happy about heading home, sort of. He didn`t have much to head home to or anything to do, his life consisted of going to work and then going home to have a beer, then go to sleep and start all over again the next day repeatedly five days a week. 

When he got in the door of his home he sighed happily, he was glad that he was now in the comfort of his own home, but now all he had to do was sleep until tomorrow morning when he`d go to work again. With so little to do and with nothing to be worried about, it was strange how he could be running late so often. He wandered into the kitchen and searched his fridge for a beer before heading back to the living room in his house, turning the television on and going to rest on his sofa. But he stopped when a piece of paper fell out of his pocket. He went to pick it up and found a phone number that he didn`t recognise on it, he frowned as he stared at the slip of paper as he turned out over, finding a message written on the opposite side without the number. “Call me” the piece of paper read and under the words it was signed by Dylan, a winking face drawn onto the piece of paper beside the message. Did the man slip the paper into his pocket? When? 

Matt frowned, but still added the number onto his phone anyway and gave the man he had managed to bump into in his rush to work a quick text before laying down on the sofa. For the rest of the night he did what he usually did, he finished his beer and watched the cheap television that really had nothing interesting on it until he fell asleep, that was how his life usually went, and it had been like that for years of his life now. He didn`t usually bump into a flirtatious men who slipped pieces of paper with their phone numbers into his pocket while he was late for work, but the rest of his day was how all of his days before had usually went and it would most likely continue to be that way for years in Matt`s mind, everything apart from Dylan in his life was repetitive. This was the life he was used to, working, looking after his home, going to sleep and doing the same thing over, over and over again. Matt`s phone beeped and even if he wanted to, he was too tired to check it now as he was half way through falling asleep. He would look at his phone in the morning, now all he wanted was to rest and think of a better life than he currently had while he dreamt. He had a dream life of working in a band with his friends, writing music and performing to loyal fans who loved what he and his friends had dedicated their time to working on. He loved the idea of working as a musician, to him it was the best career and it was what he wanted since he was a kid. In real life that was just wishful thinking, he knew that now, but when he was sleeping the life he wanted felt very real. He loved the idea of creating music of his own, but he was working selling the music of successful bands instead, that was his reality.


	2. Mismatched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So...There isn't a title for this chapter, but it's waited too long to be posted so I just decided to throw it out there and think up a title later...Or Monster will, whoever does first.

Matt let out a tired sigh as he stared up at the analogue clock on the wall, he had an hour left of his shift. He placed the money he had gotten from the last customer in its usual location and looked over to Charlie, who wore a wide grin on his face as he approached his friend and helped him out with the store.

“Hey, Charlie.” Matt said as he watched customers walk around and look at the products the store had to sell.

“Hey, you know how you`re into guys?” Charlie said as he stood next to Matt, carefully looking at the customers as well.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that.” Matt said back, his eyes kept focused on his work and on the customers around the shop and ignoring the grin that was widening on his friend`s face.

“Oh, come on. It`s true, I saw you leaving that club with that guy last night.” Charlie teased; Matt gave him a small glance.

“If you saw me in this said club, doesn`t that mean that you were there too?” Matt answered back.

“Touché.” Charlie responded. “Anyway, I was thinking. Maybe you should go on a date.” He added, grabbing all of Matt`s attention.

“A date?” Matt repeated. “With who?” He questioned.

“I have a friend, Danny. He said he was interested in meeting you, so maybe you should go and see him?” Charlie explained. Matt gave him a funny look.

“Charlie, I don`t feel like dating like that right now.” Matt replied, telling half of the truth.

“Come on, can`t you at least think about it?” Charlie tried to persuade his friend. “Danny is a great guy.” Charlie added, attempting to convince Matt even further.

“Fine, I`ll think about it.” Matt sighed; Charlie had a bright smile covering his face.

“Great, meet him at the restaurant across the road from here, seven o’clock, sharp.” Charlie replied. Matt looked to him with wide eyes, he only said he`d think about it. “It`s table four and dress nicely.” Charlie added before walking off, Matt shook his head as he continued his shift, looking after the customers that came to buy products from Charlie’s store. Heading home once his shift ended, of course after Charlie had oh, so kindly reminded him about his surprise blind date that Charlie had most likely been set up to be a joke or prank.

Later on in the evening Matt was searching for clothes that might work for his date, even if it might just be a trick he still wanted to dress nice just in case it wasn`t a joke. Even then, if it was a real date then it would be strange, Matt already had his eyes on someone. He had realised that about a week ago, now he was only waiting for the right time, whenever that would be…

“So he said to go on the date, even though you said you’d think about it?” Dylan asked and Matt nodded, confirming what his friends had said.

“That`s exactly what he did, he booked the table before I had any damn idea.” Matt said as he pulled another shirt out of his wardrobe, considering if the item was good enough for a date.

“And you just agreed?” Dylan asked. Ducking as Matt tossed another shirt onto his bed.

“Yep.” Matt muttered as he gently laid out a white shirt that he thought would work out with the “dress nice” dress code.

“Why don`t you just bring a condom with you as well.” Dylan muttered bitterly, watching as Matt laid out a black tie that he somehow had.

“Could you be any more bitter?” Matt replied as he pulled out a black blazer he almost never wore as he never had any special occasions to wear it.

“I guess you`re right, condoms are for pussies.” Dylan muttered back, Matt couldn`t help but smile at the joke that he heard. It was a bad one, but he was still trying his best not to chuckle at the sense of humour his friend had.

“It`s probably going to be a prank, there’s only going to be a friend in it.” Matt replied, ignoring the joke as he looked around his wardrobe some more.

“You don`t have to go just to make your boss happy.” Dylan said quietly to himself, but Matt still heard his words.

“He’s also my friend; he only wants me to be happy. I get a new friend out of this whether it turns to be romantic or not.” Matt explained as he picked out a pair of black trousers, he looked back at Dylan with a smile. “And I get a free dinner out of it too, Charlie said he`d pay for it if I didn`t end up in bed with Danny.” 

“That`s the fucker`s name, Danny?” Dylan asked and Matt nodded, confirming that the date’s name was Danny.

“Look, a relationship is most likely not going to come out of this, I`m interested in someone else anyway so stop being jealous about Danny.” Matt explained as he pulled his work shirt off and put on the shirt he had picked out for his date.

“Does the person you are interested in have chocolate brown eyes, a body of a god and the most amazing humour you`ve ever heard?” Dylan asked with a wide grin covering his face, gesturing to himself as Matt chuckled.

“Maybe.” Matt teased, winking at Dylan as he tried to button up his shirt.

“Oh, come on! Now I want to know!” Dylan pried. “Is it me?” He asked.

“Maybe I`ll tell you later.” Matt said as he continued with the buttons on his shirt, cursing as he realised that he had done it wrong.

“As in later tonight?” Dylan asked. Matt smiled at him.

“Sure.” Matt said as he took a second attempt at the white plastic buttons on his shirt, making sure he did them right.

“Yeah, well I have somewhere to be.” Dylan said as he stood up. Matt looked at his brown eyes to see what emotion his friend had before his focus went back to his shirt as he struggled with one of the buttons that he was attempting to do.

“Well, catch you later, man.” Matt said as he paid more attention to his shirt, trying to do the buttons without any more struggle.

“See you in a bit.” Dylan muttered once again as he walked off, leaving the house as Matt tried to dress nice for Danny.

The park looked different in the evening as Matt walked through it, it wasn`t dark, but the sun was in the process of setting and it made everything look better and definitely prettier. One of Matt`s favourite things was look at how the sunset gave an orange colour to everything, it was peaceful. After his little walk through the park he headed over to the restaurant that was filled with hot colours and gave the inside of the building a warm atmosphere, he could easily tell that just from standing outside.

As Matt walked into the restaurant he could hear some old fashioned music as he wandered towards the “please wait here” sign and did as it said, waiting for one of the workers in the restaurant. He looked around for a moment before he noticed a lady in uniform walking towards him.

“Hey there, how can I help you?” The lady asked, smiling at Matt as he smiled politely back.

“I have a seat at table four?” Matt said and the lady nodded with the bright smile on her face as she picked up a menu.

“Sure, right this way, sir.” The lady said, leading Matt to his table where he saw an extremely handsome man with a warm, brown eyes and wearing a brown suit that made him fit in with the restaurant`s cosy atmosphere. Matt sat on the seat opposite the man`s as the lady handed him the menu in her hand, keeping a bright smile on her face.

“I`ll come back to take your orders later.” The lady said and both men nodded at her as she walked off, then they looked at each other with kind smiles covering their faces.

“Hey, my name is Danny.” The man said as he held out his hand for Matt to take, which he happily did.

“I`m Matt.” He said as he shook the man`s hand. “Nice to meet you.” Matt added, smiling with the man in front of him.

Both men chatted for a while about different things, finding common interests in things like music, jobs, ambitions and they shared a few jokes. Their music tastes were in ways similar and they both wanted to one day be part of a band that would make music that would bring fans that would care about them and by their albums as well as going to their concerts. Matt also during the time they had spent that Danny worked in a music store like Matt did, but he didn`t fell the same connection he did with Danny that he did with Dylan, the person he was actually interested in.

“Hey, do you think this is working out?” Danny eventually asked, his brown eyes looking to Matt`s blue ones curiously.

“I don`t think so, I`m not really into this blind date things.” Matt sighed. “I`m actually interested in someone else.” He added nervously, deciding to be honest.

“It`s fine, I am actually more into…Charlie.” Danny admitted. Matt gave him a wide, bright smile.

“You are?” Matt grinned; Danny nodded quietly feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Can I ask, why did you go on this date if you`re interested in someone else?” Danny questioned, wondering about the person in front of him.

“I was just curious; I wanted to get to know you.” Matt said honestly, Danny nodded.

“It was the same reason for me, I wanted to meet you.” Danny said back, Matt chuckled happily.

“So friends?” Matt asked and Danny nodded in agreement, happy.

“Friends.” Danny confirmed with a happy expression.

After the date that turned out being a friendly dinner ended, both men said their goodbyes and Matt happily walked home, enjoying the time he had just spent. It was nice to go outside of his repetitive life for a while; he liked the adventure and wandered through the park on his way home, thinking about Dylan and how he must have felt. Was he really jealous? It didn`t seem like it, but Matt`s hope had risen slightly at the chance that maybe Dylan felt the same way about Matt as he did about him.


	3. The Reward Is Cheese

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back... Back again...

In the morning, Dylan didn't really have the clearest idea of where he was and very small memory of anything that had happened the night before. He was lying on a bed in a room, he gathered that much, but he couldn't figure out who's room it was since he didn't recognise it as his. The man let out a groan in pain due to his aching head as he sat up, looking around once more after his eyes had adjusted. It didn't take long for him to notice the cup of water and the pain killers that sat next to it, he frowned as he thought better if taking the tiny pills. He muttered a quiet curse though as he looked away, his head giving him a painful reminder that he did indeed need painkillers. 

Carefully, he grabbed two painkillers and the cup of water that shined a reflection on the glass and quickly placed one at a time in his mouth, drinking them down as the water slightly reminded him of how he got drunk the night before. Another quiet groan ended up leaving him as his head started screeching once again, the pain (along with still being slightly drunk) making his grip loosen on the cup of liquid. Dylan couldn't catch himself in time as the glass fell from his hand and the water poured onto his crotch, his mind still not one hundred percent aware of what was good or bad. 

"Fuck" He muttered as he picked up the glass that lay on his lap, moving it back over to the bedside table where he found it, but completely missing the surface and letting the cup fall onto the carpeted ground, luckily not getting broken in any way. The man closed his eyes, giving himself a small rest before he faced the challenge of standing up and figuring out his location, slowly moving his legs from the bed and placing his feet on the ground. He let out a small sigh as he stood up, the action feeling like more effort than what it was worth as he tried to take one step, but his balance faltered as he desperately attempted to grab onto something to save himself from gravity. His dark chocolate brown eyes kept closed for one moment as he tried to figure himself out, taking gentle steps towards the door of the room and to the hallway of the home.

Only when he got to the kitchen did he realise where he was, as he recognised Matt cooking food in the kitchen. Still in pain, he gave a weak smile at the sight of the male. He must have visited drunk, because he didn't remember getting here at all as he sat down at the small dining table. The smell of eggs and bacon making his belly twist in sickness, but also feel really hungry at the same time. 

"Good morning." Matt smiled. Grabbing two plates and placing the cooked food on them, and then placing them on the dining table. When he sat down in front of his own he smiled in amusement at his guest as he started scoffing down the food. "It's good to see you're not wasting time chewing." He laughed. 

"Sure. It's really good." Dylan smiled, loving the taste of food in his mouth. "Your food is amazing."

"Thanks. Maybe I should teach you how to cook a few things." Matt took a small bite of his egg as Dylan smirked.

"I'd like that." He grinned. "And if I cook the food good, is there a reward in place?" He questioned, wiggling his eyebrows slightly. Matt let out a humoured laugh, but in his head, he was thinking up a reward.

"Maybe." He smiled.


	4. The Beginning Of The End

Matt laughed at Dylan as he looked to his burnt food with a confused look. "But I did exactly as you said!" He whined, the ash of the food falling onto the table.

"We've been at this for a week and you still manage to burn toast to ash." Matt chuckled, finding it hilarious that Dylan had such a struggle with cooking.

"Shhhh." Dylan hushed, glaring playfully. Even he knew that burning toast was funny. "I'm going to get this right, and you are going to give me a reward for it."

"Sure I am." Matt laughed. Even more amused at Dylan's childish frown.

"Pass me over that damn bread." Matt did as he said and Dylan quickly placed it in the toaster, giving it a few minutes before it popped out and he lifted it from the small appliance with a confident smile. Matt clapped happily.

"Well done!" He cheered. "Now to butter the bread." He grinned wide.

"Oh, no no." Dylan placed the toast on the table and directly faced Matt. "It's reward time."

"So, what is the reward?" Matt questioned, his grin permanently stuck to his face as he looked over to his friend.

"Well, what do you think?" Dylan asked, a flirtatious tone to his voice. Matt gave a shrug, letting the male take control. "I'm thinking..." Dylan's eyes flickered from Matt's eyes to his lip, placing his fingers under the male's chin and leaning in for a kiss. It was only one, but Matt wanted more. He leaned in when Dylan seperated slightly and stole another kiss, catching the few more that followed.

"That's a good enough reward." Matt's eyes felt heavy as he stared to the man learning to cook, still entranced by their shared interaction. "Now. Butter." Dylan let out a whine.

"But I don't wanna..." He pouted.

"Come on, the butter is the easy part." Matt looked to Dylan's eyes. "... Well, it's all easy..." Dylan gave Matt and unimpressed look as he went to get the butter and a knife. "But the butter is the easiest part."

"I hear you." Dylan grinned, placing butter on the knife and spreading it with the guidance of Matt.

"It's still strange that you struggle so much with toast. How have you even lived?" Matt chuckled. "At least you're good at the butter spreading part."

"I bet your good at spreading too." Dylan muttered, taking a bite of the toast he made and laughing at Matt's bright red face. "I need to go to the bathroom." Dylan placed the bread back down and left to do his business.

Matt smiled happily once he was out of sight, sighing dreamily. That kiss was a confirmation to him that Dylan felt the same way for him as he did. He was so happy Dylan came into his life, nothing about it was boring and repetitive with Dylan around. And he wanted it to stay that way forever, but if it did... Wouldn't that mean it would be repetitive? Nah, Dylan was too unpredictable to be repetitive. At least he managed to make toast. "Dylan! Your toast is getting cold!" Matt called, turning to see where Dylan was.

His happy expression quickly faded when he saw Dylan standing at the doorway, pale with wide eyes, looking as though he was choking as his hand swiftly and shakily went to his chest." Dylan?" Matt gulped, worry sparking through his bright blue eyes as Dylan let out a few short gasps before his eyes rolled back into his head and closed. 

"Dylan!" Matt almost screamed out as Dylan collapsed to the ground.


	5. (to be titled)

"Mr Ragan? There's a call for you." George sighed as he got up from his work desk, knowing who the person calling was. The only person who would call him at work, he had half a mind to just ignore the call this time.

"Do I have to pick you up again?" George didn't need to ask who it was or say hello, he knew it was Jorel on the phone.

"Please? We're in trouble again." Jorel was out of breath from running, and George could hear Aron running with him.

"Aron is in trouble again, you just chose to join in and help him." George scoffed through the company phone.

"George, please. Just come and get us?" The man frowned, his blue eyes looking at the crappy posters covered in shitty saying that advertised how "great" working a desk job is.

"Fine, same spot, five minutes." He frowned, hanging up when Jorel agreed. His boss stood behind him with folded arms, an unimpressed look George was used to seeing on his face. "I gotta go again."

"This is your last chance, Mr Ragan." George gave a nod. He hated the workplace, but since he was the only one earning money out of the three, he really had to keep this job. Too bad Aron didn't understand that. 

A sigh left George as he glanced at his watch, car pulled over to the side and ready to drive as soon as Jorel and Aron got in, which they quickly did. Both men looked beaten and had forming bruises, and George said nothing as he started driving back to their apartment. It was silent for a few moments before he glanced in the mirror to the two males just in time to see them kissing, he cringed. 

"Guys, maybe thanking me is better than fucking in the back of my car?" He grumbled.

"Aron, don't." Jorel stopped Aron from doing anything to upset George. "Thanks George, you're a lifesaver."

"I know. Why do you keep getting in trouble with those guys anyway, Aron? You know what they're going to do." George frowned.

"Me?" Aron was surprised as well as angry. "George, Jorel was there too and we-"

"I have no fucking problem driving back around and throwing you at them." George snapped, grinning when Aron stayed silent and his irritation faded. He wasn't being serious, he would never let either of them get killed, but he'd never tell them that. He had to have something to scare the annoying side of Aron away. "I only have one chance left at this job, one more call from you asking me for help and I get fired."

"Not like you're earning much anyway." Jorel gave a harsh nudge to Aron because of his comment. 

"I'm earning enough to provide you with a getaway car and an apartment, both of which you can forget about if you don't shut the fuck up." It sounded like George hated Aron, of course it did. He was just upset over the fact that if he lost this job, they'd be homeless, and Aron refused to listen. He just hoped that he'd start listening now before they ended up on the streets.


	6. (also to be titled again soon)

"So, what's for dinner today?" George frowned at the question, placing his keys on the kitchen counter.

"Leftovers." He grumbled out, hearing unhappy groans from the two males he lived with.

"But that's so boring." Whined Aron, and George couldn't help but roll his eyes at the complaint.

"Well, if I had been able to finish my work today then maybe I would have been able to afford us some food." He smirked at the glare he was receiving, knowing that he had won this small little match.

"Whatever." He muttered, no longer interested in standing in the small kitchen that really only fit one person in it.

"Aron, you could at least be a little grateful to him for being able to make something out of what we have." Jorel sighed, Aron now glaring his way after he had spoken. 

"Why do you always fucking take his side on shit?" Aron snapped.

"I don't take anyone's side on anything, Aron. I'm just thinking about what's best for everyone." George stayed silent as he watched the situation unfold, it could go two ways, and neither would be pretty. This was nothing to do with him though and he didn't want to have any input in the situation, trying to find whatever he could to make enough to feed three people. They were really low on food...

"Why don't you think about us instead? Don't you ever think that maybe we should clarify some shit, Jay?" Aron snapped, knowing that he had found something to upset the other male with. George really felt like an awkward third party as he still desperately searched for anything that hadn't been eaten, only finding pasta. There wasn't even any sauce, but they wasn't really a choice. It was all the had. Finding food seemed to be a good distraction as suddenly he didn't hear what had happened, but only paid attention when Aron had walked away and Jorel let out an upset sigh. 

"Trouble in paradise?" George tried to joke.

"Very funny, George." Jorel huffed, turning to face the male who was now boiling water. "Why do you even care?" 

"I don't." The older man grinned, letting it falter when he saw the unhappy expression on Jorel's face. He looked... Sad. George never saw sadness on the friend's face that often. "That was a lovers' quarrel, I guess you could say?"

"George, I really don't know what to do." The younger of the two stared as boiling water was poured into a pot, the last of what pasta they had left following.

"Go and talk to him. I'll call when food is ready." Jorel gave a smile.

"Do you think that's all it takes?" The older one could hear the uncertainty.

"To find out where you stand? Yes."

"Thanks, George." Jorel sighed, walking off in the same location Aron had walked off to.

"And try to be quiet!" He joked, laughing lightly to himself as he imagined the middle finger that was probably being held up to him right now. They'd probably not do any of that right now, he hoped.


	7. (again... Chapter title is coming soon)

George frowned as he tried to pay attention to the show playing on the TV, Storage Wars was the most interesting thing. If he could even focus on the TV, the two men had came for food when he had called on them. It was shocking not to hear a single complaint from Aron about the fact that pasta was all that they were having, he seemed to giddy about being around Jorel to even care about the bowl of food. The male cringed when Aron insisted that Jorel fed him his food, and there was only so much he could take before it really annoyed him to hear the flirting of the males. It wasn't like he wasn't happy for them, he was really happy they'd fixed everything, but there was a bedroom for this reason. 

"Guys, can you move your gay shit into the bedroom? I'm losing my damn appetite hearing about what you're gonna do to each other with your cocks." George scowled, happy to see the empty bowls of the two other men in the apartment. That meant they really had no other reason to be there other than to frustrate him and make him feel disturbed. 

"We aren't even talking about that!" Aron hissed unhappily.

"We are now." Jorel smirked, placing a lustful kiss on the other's lips and George hated the fact that he had no choice but to watch. It was a relief for him when the two did as he said and finally got a room. Just in time for the credits of Storage Wars. Now he had to find something else interesting before he went to sleep, because there wasn't anything else to do. And no, there wasn't more than one bedroom. Those two always shared it and George was okay with the sofa, no one ever complained about that, even if it gave George a lot of back and neck pain in the morning.

"Fuckin' hell." George grumbled, as soon as he managed to find a show he was interested in, loud moaning distracted him. He could never hear the TV with the sounds of the two in the room having their fun, and turning the TV up was out of the question. He didn't want to police knocking on his door telling him to turn his shit down because the old lady next door complained. She was basically deaf anyway, so why the fuck did it even matter to her? Then George remembered that he was bitching about the landlord... Right. Another loud moan broke his train of thought and he was left to be disturbed. They didn't even have a pair of headphones. They couldn't afford it. So he couldn't even do anything about it... 

George's eyes went to the window, looking out at the dark sky. Way too late to be going for a walk too. He scowled, wondering if this was an intention of Jorel's after the shitty joke he had made about being quiet earlier. Fuck him if it was. He didn't find it very funny, and he made that clear when Jorel walked back out, what felt like two hours later. 

"Aron fell asleep." Jorel muttered with a tired smile, though the fact that he was walking told George more than he ever wanted to know. 

"Are you sure you didn't kill him?" George grumbled out, staring at the TV screen. The show was over ages ago, and it didn't matter what was on, his attention was still taken away by the disturbing scene of his friends having sex in the next room. It wasn't even anything he could get off to, and it felt gross to even think about it. 

"Sorry, man. Can't help it if it feels good." George rolled his eyes. 

"Guess not." He couldn't really disagree with Jorel. If it felt good, it felt good and that was, as they would say, that. 

"Well, you helped me a lot today, both of us." Jorel was grateful, and George knew that. But he still wanted to go to bed half an hour ago and couldn't. "Thanks, man."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just let me sleep now okay?" Jorel let out a chuckle, seeing how grumpy the older male was now that he was waiting to sleep. 

"Alright, alright. See you later, man." George sighed, and that was a good enough response for the younger male as he left back into the room with a tired smile. And finally, George was able to fall asleep.


	8. (chapter title coming soon)

George walked back into his apartment with a wide grin, food in his arms. Warm food that he had went out to get, it was over the budget he had, but he felt like they all deserved a treat... No he didn't. He had a late night unintentionally last night because his friends would never stop fucking and it pissed him off to the point that he wanted to go to McDonald's and get some food from there. So he did. "Guys! Breakfast!" He laid them out on the coffee table, everything he knew they would like as well as what he liked sitting there for them to eat. The two other men that lived in the apartment walked out as if they were zombies.

"Aron, I'm surprised you can even walk." George grumbled.

"Ha ha, very fucking funny George." Aron huffed, sitting down next to him and Jorel on the other side with a smile, looking at the fast food. "What happened to not affording food?" 

"Well, we needed a treat, I feel." George grinned, taking a bite of his food.

"Agreed." Jorel muttered, sitting forward and grabbing the most delicious thing he could see in the food laid out, Aron copying his actions. "Thanks, George."

"Yep, thanks." Aron was finally grateful for something. George gave no response, choosing to quietly enjoy his meal before he'd disappear off to work and hopefully, make it a whole day.

\---~~~---

George sighed as he sat at the office, staring at the most boring database he had ever seen in his life. His boss seemed to have nothing better to do as he was always over his shoulder, making sure he was working and not about to disappear off again. He wouldn't anyway. It didn't seem like Aron was in any condition to cause any trouble after last night, and why would he want to cause trouble anyway? He had Jorel, everything he ever wanted, and so, there was no reason to actually stir shit up with some aggressive gang. At least, George would have liked to believe that.

"Mr Ragan, there is _another_ call for you." The man's icy blue eyes closed tightly, sighing. He begged that it wasn't Jorel calling to help him. He was partially glad he was getting pulled away from his desk, away from the boring tasks he was stuck doing, but at the same time, he needed the money for the men to survive. So he hoped it was just a random call that really had nothing to do with him, what were the chances of that?

"Is this Mr Ragan?" That was what was asked as soon as George formally said his hello, his boss glaring at him with folded arms.

"Yes, who is this?" George frowned at the female's voice. So it wasn't Jorel or Aron asking for help and pulling him away from work, but who was it?

"Mr Ragan, your flatmates Jorel Decker and Aron Erlichman are both in hospital right now. I request that you come and fill in some paperwork for them." George's eyes couldn't be any wider than they were. How did the two manage to both get themselves in hospital?

"I'm on my way." George muttered, hanging up the phone.

"Mr Ragan, if you leave now, don't bother coming back." He stared at the unimpressed, impatient look of his boss. If he left now, he'd be out of a job. He frowned. Fuck it. Jorel and Aron were more important.

"It was good working with you." George replied, walking out of the building and towards his car, travelling to the hospital to check that the two men he shared a home with were okay. He hoped they were okay.


	9. (Mr creative is still working on chapter titles)

Matt sat anxiously in the waiting room of the hospital. It had been hours since Dylan had collapsed and he had called for help, his heart had never once stopped racing as he watched all the people that passed him by. People waiting and then leaving after a while, some people rushed in too as patients in urgent need of care. It was stressful, not knowing if Dylan was alright, his legs quickly and repeatedly bounced, impatient to find out what happened to him. The male bit his lip slightly, curly hair falling over his face as he let out a shaky breath. Seeing the man he had so quickly fell for collapse like that...

It was hard to focus on anything positive, anything distracting when he knew not far away from him, doctors were trying to save Dylan's life. He even tried looking to all the other people in the waiting room with him, his eyes eventually locking onto icy blue ones of a worried, almost frustrated, male. He was tall, muscular, he looked threatening... But as he made eye contact with Matt for a brief moment, the male awkwardly looking away once he had been noticed, he realised the look as being the one of more a responsible man who had been put through a lot. There was experience in his eyes, experience of a dark kind that gave away the fact that he had suffered a lot... It almost made what Matt was feeling now for Dylan, worrying if he was even alive, seem like it was insignificant to whatever this male had seen.

"Mr Busek?" Matt stood, responding to his name like an excited dog hoping for a treat. And he sort of was, the treat being Dylan walking out in a healthy condition, smiling that handsome smile and pulling him into a kiss, saying that he had forgotten to make toast and needed taught again. No such thing happened. "Mr Alvarez is requesting to see you, I'll take you to his room."

The curly haired male obediently followed through the maze of hallways, the nurse stopping in front of one door. The small whiteboard next to it had Dylan's name messily written on. His jaw clenched as he closed his eyes, biting his lip again, he didn't want to read the writing under his name. It told him what had been wrong, and he hated that he wasn't able to stop himself from reading it until it was too late. He didn't want to believe what was written under his lover's name...

"Matt?" A sad smile crossed his face as he looked at the weakened male laying on the hospital bed, tons of tubes and medical machines and other equipment all connected to him in some way. He wasn't healthy. But he was still Dylan, it was still the same man Matt loved that was lying in that hospital bed. It was still Dylan, and he was fine, he was healing. He hated his brain for the cruel reminder of what he had read just moments before. He hated even thinking about it, so he refused everything to do with it. Dylan was healing. He had to. 

"Hey." Matt whispered, pulling up a chair and sitting next to the ill male, who gave him a sad smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I've had better days." The sick male chuckled out, trying to even slightly lift the mood. "Meeting you was definitely my best day." He smiled.

"Really? The day where I ran into you and ended up falling?" Dylan chuckled at Matt's comment. 

"Definitely. Your reaction was priceless." He chuckled, and Matt found himself chuckling too.

"Sure. It might have been a good day." Matt agreed. "But you'll have better days." Dylan's smile fell a little, the sadness in his eyes showing that he wasn't convinced. The curly haired male realised then he was more trying to convince himself than the sick man.

"I liked learning to cook with you, too." Dylan brought up after a small moment of thoughtful, depressing silence. 

"You mean, like." Matt was trying to be as persuasive as possible, even if he didn't really know who he was trying to persuade at this point. "You still have a lot more food to learn to make." He bit his lip again as he saw the look on Dylan's face. It was the one of someone who wanted to smile, but couldn't. Their heart was too heavy for it.

"Matt..." Dylan sighed, the blue eyes of the male he had addressed locking onto his brown ones. "I'm not going to get better." His voice darkened, saying something that the male never wanted to ever hear. His teeth chewed on his lip hard enough for him to believe he was drawing blood, or close to it.

"Don't say that..." His voice was shaky. He didn't want to believe what he heard, he didn't want to believe what he had previously read. He refused to believe that Dylan, the only amazing thing in his life that made it interesting, wasn't going to heal.

"Matt." Dylan repeated his name, his arm feeble as he reached out to hold onto his lover's. Only when Matt held onto the other's hand did he notice exactly how weak the man in front of him was. "Almost all of my vital organs are failing, and they're only ever going to get worse..." His voice was grave, and Matt couldn't help it as his soft blue eyes teared up. He didn't want this. Dylan couldn't die. He wouldn't. Even if the illness was terminal. He wouldn't die. 

"I don't want things to end with me suffering until I've faded out completely, however long it takes before my body gives in." He shut his eyes as he heard Dylan's voice, holding back from crying as much as he could as his heart twisted in pain. "Wasting away? That is not what I want my ending to be." It was hard to listen to the man as he talked about his death. He knew what was happening, and he had accepted it. But Matt didn't want to.

"You can't die." His long hair fell over his face as his shoulders shaked, choking out the words he wanted to be real.

"Matt, listen to me." A shaky hand touched his face and his eyes opened again, staring back into the ones that he now knew were of a dying man. He couldn't refuse it anymore. No matter how much he wanted it to be a mistake, that the doctors had wrote the wrong thing... They hadn't. "I want these memories of meeting you, learning to cook with you, loving you..." Dylan wasn't crying. He never was a crier, and he wouldn't cry now either, his eyes only watered as he gave a faint, supportive smile. "I want them to be the last thing I have before I'm set free." Matt's eyes were wide as he understood what Dylan was about to ask him, was he really asking him to do this?

"All you need to do for me, is turn the IV up." Dylan explained. "Eleven should do it." Matt let out another, heavy, shaky breath. It was painful to breathe, hearing the words that left Dylan's mouth. How could he ask Matt to do that? He asked to... Die. How could he kill him? The man he loves. Why would he? He hated the idea of being the person who killed the man who had brought so much happiness to him only just this morning. He couldn't kill him.

 _But it's what Dylan wants._ Something in Matt's head pointed that out. The male staring at him with a pleading, teary eyed gaze, wanted to end his suffering. He was doomed to die no matter what. He just wanted to hurry it up instead of dying a miserable, slow death. He didn't want to suffer. Would Matt really leave the man he loved so much to suffer for an unknown amount of time? Or would he let him die with the happiest ending he could get?

"It's this one, isn't it?" He couldn't believe what he was doing as he moved from his chair and placed his hand on the dial, lip quivering slightly as he read the numbers.

"Yep." Dylan wasn't a crier, but he couldn't help the few tears that did slip out as he heard the sound of the dial moving for a small moment. The change in the IV quickly took effect, and Dylan gave a small smile of gratitude to Matt as he sat back down, crying. "Thank you for everything, Matt." He whispered, talking was sort of hard, and, although he didn't want to leave the male alone, he was happy to be set free. The pain he had suffered for so long was leaving him as he felt himself grow faint, a final, loving look in his eyes thrown the healthy male's way. "I love you." His eyes gently closed, the smiling still on his face as he quickly faded.

"I love you too..." Matt quietly whispered, his voice not having the power to be any louder. His shoulders shake as he quietly sobbed, closing his eyes as he stayed on the chair with his heart wailing in agony. It was Dylan's choice, and his wishes were something Matt respected. But it hurt so much...

With a short breath he sat up, giving one last look to the love of his life before he stood. He couldn't be in the room any longer. It felt as though Dylan had took his heart with him. His body seemed weak as he hugged himself, crying as he walked away and out the door. Not noticing the blackened smoke that suddenly covered the dead man behind him as he left the hospital...


	10. (yes, another chapter to be titled)

George paced back and forth in the waiting room, his eyes flickering around at all the people as he waited with slight impatience and extreme worry over his friends and what could have happened to them. And for a moment his eyes went to another person with big, curly hair falling all over their head, they looked sick with worry, and looked away when he noticed them. Soon the person's name was called, and he calmly watched as the male followed the person to whoever he was visiting. Another nurse appeared and called his name, with a small nod, he followed the nurse to the room he was being taken to.

The hallways were all clean, and empty looking, even with all the posters and gurneys, people walking around. Each room had a different name with a different diagnosis, and he cringed when he read a certain one, watching for a small moment as he passed as the curly haired male from before walked into the room, belonging to a dying man. He felt bad for both of them as he kept moving, focusing on his own priorities as the nurse gestured to the room his friends were in. The only name on there was Aron's, not Jorel's. So either, Jorel had a separate room or he was fine.

But it wasn't the case. Aron was laying on a hospital bed wearing a few casts and bandages, peacefully sleeping while Jorel sat on a chair, emptily staring at the sleeping male and wrapped up in his own bandages. George let out a sigh as he pulled up a chair and sat himself next to Jorel, the male was nowhere near as injured as the other in the hospital bed was. "You know I'm not a violent person, George..." He heard his friend sigh. "This is why."

"I know, Jay. He'll heal, it's just a few broken bones." George smiled supportively, trying to comfort the friend next to him, who was still staring at the sleeping frame not far from him.

"But what if next time it isn't? What if next time he actually gets hurt bad enough that it kills him?" Jorel questioned, gaining a careful look from the older man. "I don't want to lose him." Jorel's voice was shaky.

"You won't." George replied, and before Jorel could reply with anything else, a loud scream broke out from somewhere else in the hospital, which was accompanied with a loud banging noise. It made both men jump, and George frowned in curiosity as he heard more screams around the hallways, some unnervingly close to their room. "Stay here." George muttered, walking over to the door carefully and quietly.

The screams were louder and a quiet gasp of fright left him as the power went out, a back up generator kicking in moments later. The door opened slightly, and icy blue eyes looked into the hallway without being noticed, screams of people being covered in black smoke apparently hurting them. Their screams fading out as they fell to the ground, dying and wriggling around, as if the smoke was choking them. His heart beat hard against his rib cage as he stared at the black smoke, some making hazy forms of humanoid figures. It didn't take much for George to figure out that whatever was happening, was bad. 

"Jorel, how able are you to walk? Do you think you can run?" George closed the door as carefully as possible, hurriedly moving back to the injured, but conscious male.

"Why? What's happening?" Jorel stood up, anxious as he noticed the scared expression in the older male. If he was scared, then Jorel had a good reason to be terrified, as not much could scare George, he had learned.

"I don't know, but I do know that we'll die if we stay here." George muttered, walking to Aron. He quickly checked over the unconscious male, carefully lifting the skinny male up and moving towards Jorel. "Jorel, when you go out there, you need to run as fast as you can out of the building and to my car, it's right at the front."

"George..." Jorel gave a scared whimper, his eyes showing how scared he was. George gave him a pleading, supportive look.

"I'll be right behind you, just get to the car, okay?" George reassured, watching as the friend let out a shaky, hesitant breath.

"Okay... Three, two..." His hand was shaky as he placed it on the handle of his door. He took a deep breath as his eyes closed, mapping his way out in his head as George prepared to start running too. "One." Jorel roughly and quickly pulled the door open, sprinting out as fast as he could, trying not to falter at the sight of black smoke. Dodging the figures that looked scarily similar to humans as George quickly followed behind him, Aron in his arms as they aimed to get to safety as quick as they could...


End file.
